Just as summer was coming into its full glory in rural Walla Walla, Washington, employees of Whitman College learned that their employer faced a $3 million budget shortfall, mainly due to declining enrollment, increasing scholarship money, and high inflation. Faculty and staff were told there would have to be cuts.
But the real impact would follow, when employees learned 10 of their colleagues had lost their jobs.
Those left behind talked of forming a union. The organizing committee moved quickly, an expedited process that took about five months to organize with the American Federation of Teachers.
“Folks really started talking after many of our beloved colleagues were laid off that summer,” said Shelby Hearn, the director of LGBTQI student services at Whitman College, who is part of the union organizing committee.
In mid-February, the organizing committee presented the college with a notice that 70% of the proposed bargaining unit had signed cards to authorize a union.
But the colleges’ Board of Trustees declined to recognize the union. Employers can voluntarily choose to recognize a union if a majority demonstrates support. Instead, the college turned to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for a formal election and to dispute the eligibility of more than half the bargaining unit.
That set in motion a hearing with the NLRB, which, with only a week's notice, the organizing committee for Whitman College Workers United (WCWU) said they didn’t have enough time to prepare.
NWPB reached out to the legal counsel for the Board of Trustees but did not receive a response prior to publication.
WCWU voted to rescind its initial request for recognition, although they say the fight isn’t over.
“ We are not giving up by doing this, but rather strengthening our numbers, strengthening our arguments to ensure that this is indeed a fair and equitable recognition process,” Hearn said.
Hearn said there are still concerns among faculty that others could lose their jobs, vacant positions won’t be filled and changes to benefits will degrade their love for their job.
WCWU still hopes for voluntary recognition from the college, but is preparing to go through the NLRB process.
The goal is to have the union be a wall-to-wall collective, representing staff, faculty, and non-tenure track faculty alike.
Struggle to get recognition
WCWU organizers say the administration has expressed anti-union sentiment and wouldn’t meet with committee members and their representatives.
In a March 5 email to faculty and staff at Whitman College, Vice President for Finance and Administration Jeff Hamrick wrote about the possibility of an election monitored by the NLRB. Hamrick reminded workers of their right to vote no in this election, and expressed the college’s desire to have employees vote no.
“While we do not believe union representation would be beneficial to our employees, our mission, our students, or our culture, and hope you vote ‘No,’ we respect your right to have an election to determine whether or not you choose union representation,” Hamrick wrote.
On March 11, College President Sarah Bolton, shared similar sentiments via email.
“Dividing groups into union and non-union would also likely change our culture and sense of commonality between employees,” Bolton wrote.
Why do workers want to unionize?
In summer 2025, Hearn said the college laid off 10 staff, and announced operational budget cuts and a pause on hiring for vacant positions.
Hearn said that drove people to unionize. Workers want higher wages, stable benefits, safety concerns to be addressed, neutral grievance processes and job stability.
“I think Whitman is under a delusion about how much people are struggling to survive in this town — and how offering (and taking away) benefits is really a breaking point,” shared Charles Marr who works in Whitman College Technology Services and is a part of the Organizing Committee, over email. “[Cost of living adjustment] is unheard of. Whitman gives 2% ‘raises’ but that is not enough to keep up with inflation.”
Professional, salaried workers unionized at Walla Walla Community College in 2023 with the American Federation of Teachers. Hearn said they saw the benefits of unionization there and reached out to AFT.
What does the college say?
Whitman College communications staff responded to requests to interview Bolton or someone from her office with an emailed statement.
“While I cannot speak for the Board of Trustees, I can say in my role as a spokesperson for the college that we respect employees’ right to unionize, but do not believe a union is necessary or beneficial, and we believe that a secret ballot election is the most appropriate process to follow,” said Gina Zandy Ohnstad, Vice President for Communications at the college.
In response to why the college disputed positions in the union, Zandy Ohnstad wrote, “The WCWU was intending to represent many employees (including campus security officers, visiting members of the faculty, and some supervisors, among others) that the college believed did not meet those requirements or were otherwise not properly included in the proposed units.”
One thing is clear — Whitman, like other institutions of higher education — continues to struggle financially. Zandy Ohnstad wrote that the final steps to address the finances issues will be communicated in the coming weeks.
“There are a number of factors contributing to the budget gap, including fewer students nationwide attending college, the increasing amount of financial aid awarded to Whitman students, years of higher inflation, and other national actions such as changes to State Department rules which have made it more difficult for international students to study in the United States,” Zandy Ohnstad added.
Whitman College Workers United maintains that their members will continue to push for voluntary recognition.
